Tajweed

Tajweed is an Arabic word meaning proper pronunciation
during quran recitation, as well as recitation at a moderate speed. It is a set of
rules which govern how the quran should be read. It is derived from the
trilateral root j-w-d, meaning to make well, make better, or improve. It is
required by fard. There are seven schools of tajwid, the most popular school
being the school of Hafs.

External manners

One should stop at a
verse of warning and seeking protection with Allah.

One should stop at a
verse of mercy and asking Allah for mercy.

One should use pure
classical Arabic
pronunciation, without foreign or dialectic influence.

Emission points of the letters

The emission points of
the letters, or Makharijul Huruf, is the study of where the
sounds of the different letters are emitted from. There are 17
places, in various regions of the throat, tongue, lips, nose, as
well as the mouth as a whole for the prolonged (Mudd) letters.

Characteristics of the letters

The characteristics of
the letters, or Siffat al Huruf, refer to the different
attributes of the letters. Some of the characteristics have
opposites, while some are individual. An example of a
characteristic would be the whistling (Safeer), which is an
attribute sound of air escaping from a tube.

Rules of the letter NUN and tanween

The NUN sakinah and
tanween (vowels that produces a "nnn" sound immediately after
it) can be pronounced in four different ways: Clear (Idhar), Merged with the next letter (Idgham), Hidden (Ikhfa),
and changed from a "nnn" sound to a "mmm" sound (Iqlaab).

Rules of the letter MIM

The MIM sakinah can be
pronounced in three different ways, clear (Idhar), prolonged
nasalization (Ghunnah), and uncloselipped (ikhfaa shafawee).

Rules of prolongation [muddud]

These rules refer to the
number of beats that are pronounced when voweled letter is
followed by a MUDD letter. The MUDD letters are Alif, Yaah, and
Waw. The number of beats can range from 2 counts to 6 counts.

Rules of the letter LAM

The Arabic word for
"the" is al- (the letters alif and lam).
The lam in al- is pronounced if the letter after
is "qamariyya" (lunar), but silent if the letter after is "shamsiyya"
(solar).

Thickness and Thinness of the letters

Some of the arabic
letters are always pronounced thick with a heavy accent (Tafkhim).
Some letters are pronounced thin with a light accent (Tarqeeq).
The first category of letters are called "mufakham" the lattaer
"muraqqaq". Some letters depend on the scenario, and are
sometimes pronounced thick, and sometimes thin.

How can you learn tajweed?

Tajweed and
its application can only be learned with a qualified teacher.

The rules themselves can be studied independently, but their correct application
can only be done by listening to, reciting to, and being corrected by, a
qualified teacher of the Qur'an.

Do all Arabs know how to recite the
Qur'an with proper tajweed?

Unfortunately
many do not know proper tajweed. In the days of the Prophet, peace and blessing
upon him, there was no need for the study of tajweed because they talked with
what is now known as tajweed; in other words, it was natural for them. Now,
over 14 centuries later, colloquial Arabic has changed radically from the
classical Arabic with which the Qur'an was revealed, and Arabs have to study
tajweed, just in the same way that non-Arabs do.

I want to learn to recite the Qur'an
with proper tajweed, but don't know where to start.

The first
step is finding a qualified Qur'an teacher who will listen to you and point out
your mistakes, and help you practice fixing them. You will need to learn the
Arabic letters and vowels too.

What if there aren't any qualified
teachers where I live?

Then your
task is going to be a little harder, but certainly not impossible. You need to
work with tapes of good reciters, for example, Sheikh Abdullah Basfar, or Sheikh
Mohammed Hosary. There are sets available on the Internet and in Islamic stores
that are called "mu'alm". In these sets, the reciter reads a phrase, and then
there is a blank space on the tape, allowing the student to repeat what the
reciter has just read.